Approximately 4,820 exhibitors are expected at Automechanika Frankfurt, over the 4,660 that attended in 2014. They work in fields covering equipment, components, accessories, management and services. Around 1,000 of them supply parts for commercial and freight vehicles.
The event will take place from Sept. 13-17 and cover an area of 305,000 square meters (3,282,992.68 square feet) in all, once again occupying the entire exhibition center. The show organizers say the event has achieved growth not only in terms of exhibitors, but also in terms of the level of international participation. Companies from a total of 76 different countries will be presenting their products to a huge international trade and professional public from the wholesale and retail trades, from industry and from the workshop sector.
Detlef Braun, president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, says of the role of the show as a barometer for the sector, “The top position of the motor vehicle industry and the motor vehicle retail trade is reflected in a new record for levels of participation in Automechanika in Frankfurt.” According to the Institute for Retail Research IFH, Köln, business sectors that are covered by the Automechanika trade fair account for total revenues of approximately €1.35 trillion (approximately $1.52 trillion USD) in the EU27 countries.
The economic areas covered by Automechanika Frankfurt represent the industrial supply of original equipment, including vehicle components, accessories and tires, the various relevant retail formats at the distribution stage and, additionally, the maintenance and repair of motor vehicles. The €1,348.8 billion (approximately $1,517 billion USD) of earnings in 2015 correspond to an increase of 4.8 percent over the previous year. The top-selling sector is motor vehicle retail, with sales of €806.3 billion (approximately $907.3 USD – calculated on the basis of prices to the end consumer), followed by market provision by manufacturers of components, accessories and tires for motor vehicles (€218.9 billion, or approximately $246.3 USD, calculated on the basis of manufacturers’ actual sale prices) and the turnover for maintenance and repairs (€135.5 billion, approximately $152.4 USD, calculated on the basis of prices to the end consumer).
The major topics covered by this year’s show will include concepts of mobility and modes of transport in the future and the corresponding services and workshop solutions, together with the Innovation Awards and training. Braun added, “The entire motor vehicle trade is keeping a weather eye open. Many of our customers, who work in the field of motor vehicle parts, the retail trade and the workshop industry, are here to get to grips with new products and new areas of business. Here in Frankfurt, over the next few days, the whole world will be presenting its solutions and innovations in response to the increased networking and digitalization of vehicles.”
The Frankfurt Festhalle will become a “laboratory of the future” at Automechanika Frankfurt. Visitors to the trade fair can expect a pyrotechnic display of innovation and pioneering ideas for both individual mobility and freight transport, in both private cars and commercial vehicles. The companies come from the components industry, the workshop equipment sector, software development, vehicle manufacture and the development and marketing of accessories, as well as from the energy business and the transport and logistics trades. Key areas of focus in the exhibition include e-mobility, telematic systems and solutions for internal and external networking of vehicles, with also apps and software solutions for vehicle networking, for intelligent traffic control and applications for effective fleet management.
Against this background, Messe Frankfurt is investing in some new events. Recently they launched coverage of a new business sector “Mobility & Logistics.” Looking forward, Braun said, “We shall be spreading our wings a little in future as far as topics and formats are concerned. We are thinking beyond the automotive aftermarket and are extending our portfolio with conferences, roadshows and festivals for the whole automotive sector, including transport and logistics.”
One of the new series of conferences is, for example, the international roadshow “Connected Mobility,” which will be launched in the forum on Sept. 15 with further sessions in Shanghai (Dec. 2) and Austin, Texas (March 11, 2017). Among the new shows are the Automotive Engineering Show in India, the trade fairs for commercial and freight vehicles, Futuroad Expo in Johannesburg and Comtrans in Moscow, as well as the logistics fairs, Materials Handling and Scalex.
The Festival of Motoring, which celebrated its début in Johannesburg last week, represented an entirely different format. This event concept was developed in response to the requirements of car manufacturers in South Africa.
In two years’ time, to coincide with the 25th edition of Automechanika Frankfurt from Sept. 11-15, 2018, REIFEN will take place in parallel with Automechanika Frankfurt for the first time, on licence from Messe Essen. These two leading trade fairs have already been collaborating since 2014 and will, in the future, be held jointly at 14 locations in 13 countries – from Birmingham to Shanghai. Both parties are set to benefit from the arrangement, as the tire retail sector and the workshop sector continue to grow ever closer together.
More information on the Automechanika trade-fair brand and on the events outside Germany can be found at: automechanika.com, in the blog driving-news.com and on Facebook, Twitter and automechanika.com/gplus.
